Looking beyond performance: understanding service quality through the importance-performance analysis

ABSTRACT The majority of sport service quality research uses a performance-only measurement technique, a major departure from the foundational theories upon which those studies are grounded. In this study we examined the utility of importance-performance analyses (IPA) to the measurement of sport service quality. Importance-performance analysis has been scantly used in sport literature, and the research that has employed it has ignored advancements: Gap 1 analysis, Gap 2 analysis, and three-factor theory. Data were collected via a partnership with a professional soccer club in the United States. A total of 680 respondents completed the online questionnaire, and responses were used to conduct the four analyses. Results demonstrate the utility of IPA and benefits of measuring both importance and performance to understand consumer attitudes when making service attribute decisions. HIGHLIGHTS The article analyzes a method to include importance and performance in evaluating sport service quality, which aligns better with service quality theories. The paper explains and demonstrates the utility of the different IPA methods. IPA methods provide useful insights into evaluating the service attributes and provides stronger recommendations compared to performance only measures. Three-factor theory measures relative importance and ties attribute performance to overall performance, a useful method for consumer behavior research.